Yuanjiang county-level city of Hunan's Yiyang City knotted friendship city ties with Salcedo, capital city of the Hermanas Mirabal Province in the Dominican Republic on August 21, 2023. A signing ceremony was held at the city hall of Salcedo on that day. Yang Zhiyong, Party secretary of Yuanjiang City, and María Mercedes Ortiz, mayor of Salcedo, inked the agreement on behalf of the two cities.

Huang Daoan, member of the Standing Committee and general secretary of the CPC Yiyang Municipal Committee, chairperson of the Yiyang People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and head of the Chinese delegation to Salcedo; and, Maria Alejandra Castillo, representative of the Dominican Foreign Affairs Ministry, attended and addressed the signing ceremony. The Chinese Embassy in Dominica sent a representative to present at the ceremony.

More than 80 persons attended the ceremony and related activities, including: Kelvin Cruz, president of the Dominican Federation of Municipalities; Jaime David Fernández Mirabal, former Dominican vice president; José Aníbal García, president of the Board of Regents of the Liceo Científico Dr. Miguel Canela Lázaro; and, members of Yiyang delegation.

The representatives of the two sides exchanged views and watched promotional videos of their respective cities at the ceremony. They presented the economic development, history, culture, regional characteristics, and industrial layout of their respective cities. This exchange aimed to further deepen mutual understanding, foster closer ties between the two cities, and lay a solid foundation for bilateral communication and exchanges in the future. Mayor Ortiz presented a certificate of honor to the Yiyang delegation, and Yuanjiang Party Secretary Yang presented Mayor Ortiz with Yuanjiang-style paper-cutting works. Salcedo representatives performed mariposa (butterfly) dance, a symbol of Mirabal Province.   

During their stay, the delegation also visited the Middle School of the Liceo Científico Dr. Miguel Canela Lázaro where Yuanjiang has sent teachers to assist in its education. Secretary Yang presented Yuanjiang paper-cutting works to the school.

Yuanjiang and Salcedo reached a letter of intent to establish friendship city relations on May 20, 2021, and have maintained exchange and communication since then. Yuanjiang designated two teachers to teach at the middle school last September, which has further enhanced cultural exchanges between the two cities.

This visit marks the beginning of a new chapter for the exchanges and cooperation between these two friendship cities.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunantoday